Mindbenders
by hyperoo
Summary: Azula has found a way to control Zuko... forever. Zucest, Zutara, Mai Lee, Vampire fic, not an AU. Disclaimer: Don't Avatar: the Last Airbender, it is property of Viacom. I make no money off of this nor tangible profit. Only ego boosts.
1. Chapter 1

Mindbenders

Zuko stood on the edge of the ballroom as the happy couples twirled in endless circles, their vibrant silk and satin costumes spinning around them. It looked oddly like a spider's web, but that was most likely Azula's doing. She had special tiles put into the ballroom floor for just this occasion, insisting it was for a dancing contest. Whichever couple managed to follow the macabre pattern just right would be the winner. She'd managed to taunt him on such a grand scale. He scowled and walked away from the spinning pawns.

He turned down the side hall towards a smaller room were some guests were holding a salon. As he entered he saw Ty Lee in the middle of the room doing handless somersaults with ease.

_Two hundred years and she's still desperate for attention_, Zuko thought_, you'd think she'd get over it and move on._

His eyes turned towards the back of the room: Mai stood there leaning against the wall, her lustful eyes on Ty Lee's graceful movements. It had been over a century since she had looked at Zuko like that, and he had no complaints. All the Firebenders in the world couldn't melt Mai. He had finally given up on trying. Let Ty Lee deal with her now.

He walked out of the room and down towards his bedroom, it wasn't even near sunrise but the evening had already exhausted him. He slammed the door behind him and unbuttoned his red cavalier coat. He would never understand these new fashions, they were so odd, especially the round buttons. Some new designers in the western Air Temple had started creating them about thirty years ago, and now everyone wore them. What he wouldn't give to have his red silk robes back, what he wouldn't give to have everything back. Zuko threw his coat aside in disgust. Why had this happened to him? Why hadn't he died when she did, by her side?

"Zuzu" a voice called from behind his bed curtains "That's the latest fashion; I had it flown in by Airbenders just for you."

Zuko stiffened; Azula slithered off of the bed, her long hair pulled back into a flawless braid and bun, two loops in the front. A sheer, blue robe did nothing to hide her naked body. He tried to look away in time but it was too late, her eyes had him. Even though he was the same as her, she was more powerful, she was always more powerful. He tried to fight her, but she had him. A simple gesture of her arm was all that was needed, he went to her side. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him onto the bed.

He quickly traveled into his memories, back to when she had been alive. He would rather look into the past than acknowledge what was happening in the present.

"_Why isn't it working?!" Zuko desperately shouted, as he held his cut wrist over Katara's mouth_

"_It doesn't always work Zuzu"_ Azula had answered calmly _"You should've just let her go, at least then you wouldn't have had to live with the knowledge that her death was your doing."_

_Zuko pulled Katara's limp body into his arms and sobbed into her hair. She was gone, and he would live forever without her._

All of a sudden, Zuko's thoughts became white static; he groaned and collapsed on top of Azula. She panted underneath him, a smile on her face.

"There Zuzu, that wasn't so bad."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Zuko opened his eyes when he felt the sun rise. Even though he could no longer Firebend, he felt the warmth run through his veins.

_Something's you never forget, _he thought, _and something's you wish you could._

Zuko slammed his head against the headboard for thinking such thoughts. He knew Azula could make him forget, she had offered too on numerous occasions, but he always refused. His memories were all that kept him from being truly hers, and luckily, that mindbending technique couldn't be forced, you had to be willing for it too work.

He looked over at the pillow to his right; a single long black hair lay on it. In the exact center of the indent where Azulas head had been. It was no accident, it never was. It was her way of telling him that no matter what, she would always be there.

The curtains were open as well; the room faced west, so he wasn't in danger yet. He knew that and so did Azula. After their nights together she would always leave the blinds open, giving him a choice. (Giving herself a defense when he fights back.) If their life was so unbearable, why didn't he end it?

Zuko got up and walked to his chest of drawers. In the top drawer, under everything was a small piece of blue silk. He pulled it out and unwrapped its contents. The blue necklace she had been wearing when they first met, and a small glass vial of her blood. Every few decades he would visit her tomb in the Ice Temples and refill it. He looked at rays of sunlight creeping over the floor toward him. It would be so easy to step into them, to join her.

He let out a growl and pulled the sash to close the heavy curtains. He couldn't die, not while Azula still lived. He knew eventually he would have the courage and power to defeat her, until then he would have to suffer and endure.

He sighed and crawled back into bed. He pulled the crystal stopper of the vial and took a sip; he put the piece of blue silk to his nose and inhaled deeply. His hand traveled underneath the covers, he groaned and took another sip of her blood. He spent the rest of the morning reliving their nights together


	3. Chapter 3

Azula smiled at no one as she sat down her bed

Azula smiled at no one as she sat down on her bed. Everything was a complete success, the dance, the manipulation, the sex. Everything she loved rolled into one perfect night. But it wouldn't last, sooner or later he would hear her calling him again. Her voice was a constant threat to everything Azula had built, all of the voices were. They called out in desperation and anger, haunting her dreams, disturbing the perfect world she had created for herself. Why couldn't they just leave her alone? Couldn't they see she was finally happy? Everything was secure, no one would leave her and no one would betray her. It was finally safe for her, or it would be if only they would move on. But no, even in their death they couldn't leave her be.

A small tingling crept up her spine, her smile disappeared.

"What do you want?" she snapped

"Why do you hurt him?" Ursa asked

Azula turned around and faced her mother's spirit, her eyes glowing red.

"He's not a child clinging to your robes anymore Mother, Zuzu's a big boy. He can take care of himself"

"And you?"

"What about me?" Azula spat "I'm fine, I have everything I've ever wanted! I am the eternal leader of the Fire Nation. All of my inbred, half-wit descendents are so far under my control they don't even realize they're royalty"

Shining tears filled Ursa's eyes.

"And that makes you happy?" She asked, hoping the answer would be different this time

"Of course!" Azula lied "Everything is just the way I want in."

Ursa nodded, she wished there was something she could do to help her daughter. But Azula was beyond that now, she'd been beyond that from the moment her father realized her potential. She had spent years trying to be perfect for him, and Ursa, knowing Ozai would not want Azula coddled, put all of her love into Zuko. She looked at Azula, her beautiful daughter and knew what she had to do.

"Alright," she said "Since you're so happy, I won't bother you again."

Azula looked up, stunned at what her mother just said. She opened her mouth to protest but Ursa was already gone. She listened for her mother's voice, tried to sense her spirit, but it was a worthless effort. Ursa had moved on. Tears dripped down Azula's face; she would never see her mother again.


	4. Chapter 4

Zuko's eyes flew open, something was wrong. Something had happened that shouldn't have, at least not yet. He wasn't sure what it was but all of a sudden the balance of power shifted and fate had sped up. He looked towards the slit in the curtains, the last grey tinted rays of the sun were just descending below the horizon. He should feel wreak but he wasn't, he should feel secure now that the one thing that was his true weakness was gone for another twelve hours, but he wasn't.

He looked towards his mirror, trying to find his reflection in it. He needed something that made him feel solid and real to concentrate on. He sat up and turned towards the vanity until he could see himself. His puckered scar, his long black hair, his golden eyes and fangs, they were all there. Just as they had been the night before, and the night before that and so on for the last two centuries.

If everything was the same then why did it feel so different. It was like the first night all over again.

_Zuko looked up and saw Azula above him, her wrist pressed firmly against his mouth, a salty, metallic liquid dripping on his tongue. Blood! It was her blood! Zuko tried to fight his baby sister, the last thing he wanted was to become what she had. Her endless quest after being banished from his kingdom had led to the ancient temples and underground cities of civilizations of benders long since dead. She had been determined to win back everything, no matter what the cost. _

_She had returned as something other than human, her odd stances had entranced those around her and she bent them to her will. Most she had killed, but not him, she had a special punishment for him. She would do to him what he had done to her, take everything away, making him no more than a puppet on her strings._

_Of course that had never actually been his intention, she was dangerous and needed to be taken care of. The simple fact that she was his sister had saved her from the executioners axe. But too late he realized his mercy had been a mistake. _

_She had exacted he revenge on him thoroughly, his children lay dead next to him, his uncle's lifeless body was somewhere in the palace. And he knew Katara would be next. Zuko could only pray to whatever spirits would listen to what he would become and keep her at the Water Temple until he could stop Azula._

Zuko looked into the mirror and saw his reflection change, first to his uncle, then to his mother. His uncle he understood, Iroh had a tendency to contact him from the spirit world from time to time, but his mother.

She had a sad look on her face, as if she was saying goodbye to him all over again. Shimmery blue tears fell down her cheeks a she blew him a kiss then faded. He didn't know how, but Zuko knew she had something to do with this feeling he had.

He started to get up and get ready for the night, he knew the only way to get information out of Azula was to be ready when she woke-up and be on his best behavior. Hopefully, it wouldn't cost him a price he didn't want to pay. Just as he was looking in the mirror again, Zuko saw a face he never thought he would see again. His reflection had faded to Katara's , only it didn't have the blueish tint a sprirts face did, It looked alive, weak, but alive. He wasn't sure what it meant, but for the first time in over two hundred years, Zuko felt hope.

A/N: I know it's short, but I'm kind of stuck on this one. I'm hoping it'll flow better soon.


	5. Chapter 5

The world moved around Zuko, whirling from reds and blacks to blues and whites. He was no longer in his room at the palace but in the highest room of the central tower of the Temple of the Water Maidens. It was a circular room, beautiful murals made of blue dyed furs were on every wall, surrounding him; encircling him.

They were beautiful, and not for their craftsmanship, but because they depicted the life of the first woman to learn the fighting styles of the Northern Traditions. From her birth on the night of the Winter Solstice during a Blue Moon to her death at the hands of her demon-possessed husband, all of it was there and tended for tirelessly by the Water Maidens, the warrior-priestesses who spent years learning the Waterbending traditions as well as diplomacy, domestic and spiritual skills so that they could emulate Katara.

They even dressed like her and did their hair in the exact same way. The younger ones kept only braids but would eventually let their hair partially loose, a small braid over it. It was one of things that always bothered Zuko about coming here, all of the girls trying their best to look and act exactly like the woman he had loved and lost. But what bothered him the most was what was in the exact center of the room; the ice coffin that held Katara's body. The freezing temperature keeping her perfectly intact and looking just as she had the day she had died in his arms.

Or had she? What did her spirit mean, and why did it appear more like a projection of someone living? And what was he doing here?

Zuko walked over to Katara's coffin and looked at her beautiful face, her features slightly distorted by the ice. She lay perfectly still, her lips slightly blue, frost thinly lining her eyelashes. Lips he would never again kiss eyes he would never again gaze into. He held his breath; he had fought the urge to break down and cry for over two hundred years, but he wasn't sure he would win this time.

A loud noise brought his attention from his grief and back to the coffin, the lid was cracking. Zuko stepped back as the ice shattered into tiny, freezing shards. Had it been one of the Water Maidens? Had it been their way of attacking someone who entered the Master's Tomb without permission?

No, that didn't make any sense since there was no way Zuko was really there.

"Zuko." a familiar voice called

He looked up and was sure he was hallucinating, sure it was some cruel trick Azula was playing on him. Katara sat up.

She turned her head and looked at him, her blue eyes faded for all but the tiniest spark of life. She held her arms out to him, silently pleading him to come and hold her as he used to.

Zuko knew he should walk away from her, every bit of logic told him it was Azula in his mind, again. But something pulled him towards Katara, something that told him that this was the chance he thought gone and it would not present itself again.

He walked over to his wife and wrapped his arms around her freezing body, relishing in her touch, even if it was no longer warm.

Katara tilted her head up and pressed her lips into his, pulling him down into the coffin as she did. Her hands traveling down to his pants string, she untied it and pulled them off.

"Zuko" she shivered "I need you to warm me, otherwise I'll be trapped like this forever."

This was lost on Zuko, how could he warm her? He was just as cold and lifeless as she. He pulled away from Katara, about to explain it to her when for the first time in centuries, he felt warmth. He looked down and noticed his hands glowing slightly red, as if fire would shoot out of them.

Katara took his left hand and put his index finger in her mouth, lightly sucking on it. The heat melting the frost on her lips and giving her cheeks a rosy complexion.

Zuko reached down and undid the silver clasp on the side of her blue velvet funeral robes, revealing her naked body underneath.

He buried himself in her freezing body, not caring that the temperature caused his most sensitive areas to sting from cold. Zuko needed her and he didn't care what it cost him or how much it hurt. He pushed in and out of her, his memory of her body and where she liked to be touched just as fresh as on the last night they spent together.

Katara groaned underneath him, her nails digging into his backside, begging him for more. As he continued, Zuko's body got warmer and all of that warmth was going into Katara, with each thrust she looked more and more alive. A spark lit up her blue eyes, her skin changed from blue to the warm, light brown color it had once been.

"Zuko!" she gasped, wrapping her legs around him, pulling him in deeper.

He sped up, getting closer, closer. Zuko knew he should control himself, knew he should slow down and think of Katara's needs, but the fear that this was some fluke and he would never again know her comfort caused his needs to be beyond his control.

It hit hard and suddenly; his thoughts flew from his mind, every muscle in his body stiffened as the shudder ran through him. Just as it was finishing, he felt a sharp pain in his neck. Katara had bitten him.

Zuko's eyes flew open, he was still in his bed at the palace, the sun having just set. He sat up and looked around, the fear set in that it had all been a dream, that he was so desperate he had imagined everything. He got out of bed and went to light the candles when he realized they were already lit. Had a servant come in while he slept? No, they knew better. Hope filled Zuko as he concentrated on the flames. The warm sensation that he had felt in his dream now crept into him and the flames rose. He couldn't believe it, he could Firebend again.

**A/N: Thanks to Moor for Beta-ing and giving me inspiration with her Zutara fanfic, Merits. It's in my story alerts, go check it out!**


	6. Chapter 6

Sullenly, Zuko walked down the hall to the main dining room for "breakfast". He was actually in an oddly good mood, but if Azula knew that she would suspect something. After the dream and regaining some of his Firebending abilities, he couldn't help but be happy. Confused, but happy. It made no sense to him, how was it possible? Was Katara somehow trapped somewhere? Was her spirit captured by Azula? Had she been reincarnated and was trying to contact him? A million questions ran round in his head; his only hope for answers would be her contacting him again.

A loud scraping noise came from the doors as Zuko reached the end of the hall. A pair of guards with blank, thoughtless faces mechanically opened the door for him. They didn't acknowledge Zuko or even blink as he walked by. They were as conscious of their actions as he had been the night before with Azula. All of their servants were to some degree, under Azula's influence.

He walked pass the enslaved guards and into the dining room. It was in its usual state of debauchery. Male and female servants, some naked, some clothed in see thru gossamer or simple loincloths, were scattered around the room. On the dinner table, instead of plates and cups, was a beautiful woman, She lay on her back, naked and writhing as Azula, Ty Lee and Mai all bit her in different places. She gasped and moaned enjoying what should've been painful. But it wasn't. Zuko knew that all too well as his hand went to the eternal scar on his neck. Since that fateful night, it had been the only injury that hadn't healed completely, Mai and Ty Lee each had one as well. He wasn't sure if Azula had had hand in the scars remaining or not, he just knew that whenever anyone bit him there it was the most amazing feeling.

Azula, Ty Lee and Mai pulled away from the women, her breathing shallow and eyes rolled in the back of her head, she begged for more. Azula took her hand and led the shaky legged women to a guard whom escorted her to a smaller room where some of Azula's other "children" were. Over the years she had occasionally added to their little group, but never truly cared much for the others, not like her first three.

Zuko looked thru the curtains and saw her given to Jet and Haru. After Azula had defeated Zuko and taken the Fire Nation, she had decided to hunt down the Avatar and his friend. While the Avatar had eluded her, these two had been willing to throw their lives away to stop her. But she had decided they were to pretty, so she had kept them. It always surprised Zuko to see how easily the two had adapted to this life. He had a sneaking suspicion Azula'a odd abilities had something to do with it. From the start, it was as if they were entirely different people.

His attentions were drawn back to the main table; another woman was brought over, this time a Water Tribe girl. Zuko's eyes darkened, he knew this servant would eventually be brought into the dining room; he just wasn't looking forward to it. Azula beckoned him over, he set his face to look angrier than he was and took a seat on a red silk cushion at the table.

The woman had beautiful, darkly tanned skin, blue eyes and dark brown hair. Azula took her left arm and handed it to Zuko.

"After you." She said in that tone she always used when she knew she had won a battle that had never been declared.

Soft and delicate, like the rest of her body, he leaned down towards the veins underneath the delicate skin of her under arm. The scent alone was enough to cause his teeth to ache, but Zuko didn't want to drink her blood. After what had happened, whatever had given him the small bit of his humanity back might disappear if he drank blood. Unfortunately, Azula was watching his every move, she knew he must be very hungry by now, as he hadn't fed in almost two days.

Zuko opened his mouth, glistening fangs slid out, he bent down and bit into her soft flesh; making sure to pierced the vein just enough to get blood out but not collapse it. The warm, sweet liquid filled his mouth and that's when he realized who she was. Anger filled Zuko's golden eyes, did her cruelty know no boundaries?

The Water Tribe Girl was not only from the Southern Water Tribe, but was a descendant of Sokka. This girl was a relative of Katara!

Zuko stood up and walked towards the doors, he would rather find some street corner whore drugged on hashish than be forced into such a horrible act. In fact, he preferred it, the drug in her blood would make him drowsy and hopefully he would dream of Katara again.

The doors slammed shut in his face, and bolted from the other side.

"Perhaps that was a little too cruel Zuko." Azula said, her voice as close to remorseful as it could get, "Let me make it up to you."

Zuko turned around and glowered at her.

"Ty Lee, Mai" Azula said turning to her closest friends "You will be joining Zuko in bed tonight."

THE REST OF THIS CHAPTER BREAKS RULES, THERE IS A LINK IN MY PROFILE TO WHERE YOU CAN READ IT. PLEASE DO NOT FOLLOW THE LINK IF YOU ARE UNDER 18!


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